Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Age when dogs are diagnosed with tumors in Italy
By Niccolò Fonti et al.·Published in Veterinary Sciences·2024·Department of Veterinary Sciences, University of Pisa, Viale delle Piagge n. 2, 56124 Pisa, Italy, CH·View original on DOAJ →
PetCaseFinder translated the abstract of this peer-reviewed paper into plain English so pet owners can read it. We do not publish original research — every detail traces back to the citation above. How we work →
Original publication title: Age at Tumor Diagnosis in 14,636 Canine Cases from the Pathology-Based UNIPI Animal Cancer Registry, Italy: One Size Doesn’t Fit All
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
Cancer is the leading cause of death in adult dogs, and a study looked at when dogs are typically diagnosed with tumors. The research found that the average age for benign tumors was 9 years and for malignant tumors was 10 years. Factors like breed, size, and whether the dog was neutered influenced the age of diagnosis, with certain breeds like those with lymphomas and mast cell tumors being diagnosed earlier. This suggests that a tailored approach to cancer screening based on a dog's breed and characteristics could be more effective than a one-size-fits-all method.
People also search for: dog cancer symptoms · when to screen for dog tumors · lymphoma in dogs age of diagnosis
Abstract
Cancer is the most common cause of death in adult dogs. All dogs would benefit from early diagnosis, but there are no specific guidelines regarding the schedule of cancer screening in companion animals. The aim of this study was to retrospectively evaluate the age at diagnosis in Italian oncological canine patients. A total of 14,636 canine histologically confirmed neoplastic cases were coded according to the Vet-ICD-O-canine-1 and stratified by malignancy, sex, neutering status, breed, cephalic index, body size, and tumor type. Differences in age distribution were analyzed and the influence of these variables on the time of first malignancy diagnosis was assessed using an event history analysis model. The median age at diagnosis for benign and malignant tumors was 9 and 10 years, respectively. Intact and purebred dogs were diagnosed earlier, but the median age differed significantly by breed. The earliest age at diagnosis was recorded for lymphomas and mast cell tumors. The model showed an accelerating effect of large size, brachy- and dolichocephaly, and sexual integrity in female dogs on the time of malignancy diagnosis. Our results confirm that a “one-size-fits-all” approach to cancer screening is not accurate in dogs and provide relevant data that may lead to the establishment of breed-based screening schedules.
Find similar cases for your pet
PetCaseFinder finds other peer-reviewed reports of pets with the same symptoms, plus a plain-English summary of what was tried across them.
Search related cases →Original publication on DOAJ: https://doi.org/10.3390/vetsci11100485